As soon as Carter Reiff became age-eligible to enter the Yolo County Fair Auto Destruction Derby, he signed up and drove.

Five years later and Woodland native Reiff has entered for a fifth-straight time in the non-weld stock cars event which took place Saturday.

The main event was won by Hector Ramirez of Arbuckle, who poured out thanks to the Shadinger family when asked about his victory. Ramirez received $4,000 for the win.

Reiff, a valedictorian in the Pioneer High School class of 2008, now studies at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. This spring he finished an undergraduate degree in environmental engineering and decided to continue in a year-long masters program at the university.

Reiff's study in cars began when he started preparing an entry for the derby in 2008. He had no prior knowledge of automobiles, but luckily, his father Mike did.

"(My dad) helped me get the ball rolling," said Reiff, who works on the cars when he's home from school.

Mike also assisted in sponsorship. A computer consultant for Maintenance Connection, Mike set up a meeting between his boss and Carter to discuss financial aid.

"I went up and asked him," Carter said of the boss, "and he said yes, yes. It was super easy" because, like Reiff, he'd seen the derby and enjoyed the show.

"I just had fun," he said. "I forgot to tie something down in my heat, so it flew out my car and I couldn't figure out why my car wouldn't start. I found it, I plugged it in and backed up — and then the heat was over. I went on to the consolation heat then."

The next two years, Reiff reached the main event.

Last summer, he said, "I was in good shape, but I got to the main and got stuck right away."

The hard-luck award Saturday went to Teryn Mathews of Gridley, the two-time defending champion in the mini-cars event. Just as that event was starting, Mathews' steering malfunctioned. Still, she was somewhat active in the event — which eventually was won by her father, Bryce. Mike Olvera of Woodland finished second.

Runner-up in the main non-weld stock car event was Derrick Mendez of Woodland, who took home a total $1,450 after also winning the first heat of the event.

Clayton Worl and Kris Canevari, both of Woodland, were third and fourth respectively in the main event. Canevari added to his earnings by capturing the fan favorite vote, the second heat victory and most aggressive driver award presented by the Woodland City Employees Association.

Canevari, who was in his third year driving, is returning to the area from Butte College this fall to attend Sacramento State.